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That  are  at  variance  with  some  of  the 
accepted  Theories  of  Scientists. 


By  JOHN  Mcdonald,  Hardin,  111. 


NEW   YORK: 

21    COLLEGE    PLACE. 
1892. 


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ATTRACTIVE  OR  ELECTRICAL  AGENTS. 


Copyright  by 

JOHN  Mcdonald, 

1892. 


/ 


I  believe  there  exists  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth 
in  addition  to  what  is  recognized  as  ponderable 
matter  a  great  many  attractive  or  electrical  agents 
or  classes  of  attractive  or  electrical  agents.  Those 
agents  I  believe  possess  certain  properties  in  common 
with  ponderable  matter,  notably  the  susceptability 
of  existing  in  great  tenuity  in  certain  conditions  and 
great  degrees  of  condensation  in  other  conditions. 
I  believe  that  those  agents  possess  a  varied  attrac- 
tion or  affinity  for  each  other  and  for  the  varied 
types  of  ponderable  matter.  1  believe  that  those 
agents  exist  in  more  or  less  condensed  conditions  as 
component  parts  of  all  or  nearly  all  the  varied  types 
of  matter  existing  on  the  surface  of  the  earth.  The 
action  of  the  sun  and  other  causes  operate  to  cause 
more  or  less  ot  those  agents  to  become  seperated 
from  other  agents  or  matter  for  which  they  have 
attracted  or  affinity  and  there  recombination  with 
such  agents  or  matter  is  some  times  recognized  as 
chemical  action,  and  some  times  as  electrical  action. 

LIGHT. 

I  believe  light  results  from  an  unsatisfied  condition 
of  attractive  agents  corresponding  to  the  colors  of 
the  spectrum.  I  believe  that  more  or  less  of  those 
agents  exist  as  component  parts  of  all  light  giving 
substances.    When  those  substances  are  transformed 


2 

by   chemical  action,  those  agents  are  set  free  and 
radiate  in  tenuous  conditions,  as  light  until  they  are 
absorbed  or  combined   with  matter  or  other  agents 
for  which  they  have  an  attraction  or  affinity.  Hence 
I  believe  that  light  results  from  changing  conditions 
of  agents  and  matter  existing  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth.     I  believe  that  while  the  sun  may  be  a  lumi- 
nous body   radiating   more   or  less  light  that  the 
greater  part   of  sun   or   day   light  existing  on  the 
surface  of  the  earth  results  from  chemical  action,  or 
changes  of  agents  and   matter  on  the  earth  surface 
caused  by  the  rays  or  attraction  of  the  sun.     I  be- 
lieve that  agents  that  play  a  part  in  the  produc- 
tion of  light  exist  in  a  condensed  form  as  component 
parts  of  an  organ  of  the  brain,  and  the  nerve  of  the 
eye  is  the  electrical  channel  by  which  that  portion 
of  the  brain  is  affected,  by  a  disturbed  condition  of 
those  agents  in  surrounding  objects.     I  believe  that 
observations  noted  by  the  mind  are  absorbed  by  the 
eye,  conveyed  by  its  nerve  to  the  brain  and  become 
in  a  condensed  form  a  component  part  of  the  same, 
enabling  memory  to  recur  to  it  at  will. 

HEAT« 

Heat  I  believe  to  be  an  unsatisfied  condition  ot  a 
class  of  attractive  agents  that  like  light,  are  suscep- 
table  of  existing  in  condensed  or  tenuous  conditions 
when  those  agents  exist  in  a  satisfied  condition  with 
matter  and  other  agents  heat  is  not  apparent.  When 
they  exist  in  an  unsatisfied  condition  as  a  component 
part  of  matter  the  substance  is  hot  when  such  sub- 


\ 


/ 


8 

stance  is  chemically  transformed.  Those  agents 
having  existed  therein  in  condensed  forms  radiate  as 
heat  until  they  combine  or  are  absorbed  by  matter 
or  other  agents  for  which  they  have  attraction  or 
affinity.  If  the  substance  is  not  chemically  trans- 
formed it  remains  hot  until  other  agents  or  matter 
is  combined  or  absorbed  in  sufficient  quanttiies  to 
cause  them  to  exist  in  the  substance  in  a  satisfied 
condition. 

COLD. 

Cold  like  light  and  heat  I  believe  to  be  an  unsatis- 
fied condition  of  a  class  of  attractive  agents.  Those 
agents  are  suscaptable  of  existing  in  condensed  or 
tenuons  conditions  when  they  exist  in  condensed 
forms  as  component  parts  of  matter  and  in  unsatis- 
fied conditions  the  substance  is  cold.  When  the  air 
is  saturated  with  those  agents  while  they  are  in 
an  unsatisfied  condition  it  is  sensibly  cold.  Hence  I 
believe  that  whether  a  substance  is  hot  or  cold  de- 
pends upon  the  quality  and  combination  of  the 
agents  that  are  component  parts  of  it.  A  substance 
may  be  warned  by  the  infusion  of  agents  that  repre- 
sent heat  to  neutralize  the  agents  that  represent  cold 
that  exist  therein  or  it  may  be  warmed  by  the  with- 
drawal of  agents  representing  cold  to  neutralize 
agents  representing  heat  in  contiguous  bodies.  I 
believe  that  water  in  its  various  forms  is  Natures 
greatest  reservoir  of  condensed  cold.  I  claim 
that  an  ice  house  filled  with  ice  is  a  represen- 
tative store  house  of  cold.     The  continued  exposure 


to  cold  necessary  to  freeze  water  after  it  becomes 
ice  cold  is  due  to  the  amount  of  condensed  cold 
necessary  to  harden  the  same,  and  the  continued 
application  of  heat  after  ice  is  reduced  to  the  melting 
point,  is  due  to  the  amount  of  heat  necessary  to 
neutralize  the  condenced  cold  that  exists  in  the  ice. 
Water  under  certain  conditions  remains  liquid  when 
reduced  several  degrees  below  the  freezing  point 
when  in  that  condition  a  slight  agitation  causes  a 
small  portion  of  the  water  to  form  into  ice,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  water  rises  in  temperature  to  the 
freezing  point.  I  believe  that  in  such  cases  the  ex- 
cess of  cold  is  consumed  by  its  being  condensed  in 
the  formation  of  the  ice.  1  do  not  believe  that  any 
heat  is  given  out  when  water  is  frozen,  in  such  cases 
heat  cannot  be  produced  above  the  freezing  point 
and  the  temperative  is  only  raised  to  the  freezing  point 
by  the  consumption  of   cold  in   the  act  of  forming 

ice. 

A  pound  of  ice  at  32  F.  mixed  with  a  pound  of 
water  at  142  F.  the  whole  becomes  ice  cold  water. 
The  no  degrees  of  heat  has  disappeared.  We  are 
told  that  it  has  become  lattent  or  has  done  work  and 
will  reappear  when  the  work  is  undone  or  the  pound 
of  water  is  again  frozen,  a  statement  I  do  not  be- 
lieve, but,  believe  that  there  was  condensed  cold 
enough  in  the  pound  of  ice  to  neutralize  the  no 
degrees  of  heat  in  the  pound  of  water.  Water 
vaporizes  when  the  condensing  agents  representing 
cold  that  it  contains  is  neutralized  by  heat.  When 
air  and  vapor  are   withdrawn  from   the  surface  of 


r 


water  the  condenced  cold  existing  as  a  component 
of  water  and  having  no  existance  as  a  component  of 
vapor  remains  and  soon  transforms  the  remainder  of 
the  water  into  ice.  Ice  and  salt  as  solids  contain 
more  condensed  cold  than  they  do  when  they  are 
combined  to  form  a  liquid.  When  they  unite  and 
form  a  liquid  that  condensed  cold  is  set  free  and 
appears  as  sensible  cold.  Condensed  cold  becomes 
sensible  cold  when  water  is  evaporated.  When  our 
clothing  becomes  wet  a  sensation  of  cold  accom- 
panies the  evaporation  that  follows.  Moisture 
evinces  an  effinity  for  condensed  cold  by  forming  on 
cold  substances. 

The  sun,  I  believe,  attracts  cold  and  moisture,  or 
the  agents  that  produce  them,  trum  substances  on 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  holding  them  suspended  in 
the  upper  regions  of  the  atmosphere;  when  the  sun's 
action  ceases  as  night  approaches  the  cold  and  mois- 
ture returns  to  the  surface  of  the  earth  and  tries  to 
unite  with  agents  and  matter  from  which  they  have 
been  separated,  and  to  this  cause,  I  believe,  is  due 
the  degree  of  moisture  on  and  the  degree  of  cold 
existing  in  vicinity  of  vegetation  at  dawn  of  day  in 
summer  time,  the  sun's  action  having  effected  more 
chemical  change  in  vegetation  than  in  other  sub- 
stances on  the  surface  of  the  earth.  A  line  of  reason- 
ing led  me  to  believe  that  the  rays  of  the  sun  did  not 
produce  heat  in  substances  wherein  they  did  not 
effect  chemical  action.  As  a  test,  I  let  the  concen- 
trated rays  of  the  sun  impinge  in  an  indenture  made 
in  pulverized    salt.    .  They    could  not  pass  through, 


6 

neither  could  they  be  reflected  or  refracted  to  any 
material  extent,  yet  they  did  not  heat  the  salt  more 
than  might  be  accounted  for  by  impurities  therem. 
This  theory  is  sustained  by  the  fact  that  the   sun's 
rays  does  not  heat  dried  air  or  the  elementary  gasses, 
as  no  chemical  action  is  effected  in  such  cases.     I 
have  seen  the  sun  shine  on  snow-covered  fields  for 
days  without  softening  the  frosty  crust  thereon,  ex- 
cept where  vegetation  stubs  protruded  through  the 
snow.      Around   each   stub  the  snow    was    melted 
to  the  ground.     I  have  seen  the  same  thing  where 
fields  were  covered  with  ice.     If  the  snow-capped 
peaks  in  Equatorial  regions  had  a  proper  admixture 
of  carbonous  compounds  permeating   their   snow  it 
would  soon  all  be  melted  ;  but,  under  existing  con- 
ditions, the  waves  constituting  the  sun's  efflux   of 
heat  that  beat  against  those  snow-capped  peaks  fail 
to    perform   the    duty   that   men   of  science    have 
assigned  to  them. 

SOUND. 

Sound,  I  believe,  is  a  disturbed  condition  of  a  class 
of  attractive  agents.  Those  agents,  1  believe,  exist 
in  tenuous  conditions  as  component  parts  of  air.  I 
believe  also  that  they  are  susceptible  of  existing  in 
condensed  conditions  and  do  so  exist  in  all  explosives 
or  sound-producmg  substances.  Whether  sound  is 
the  concussion  caused  by  a  disturbed  conditions  of 
those  agents,  or  is  due  to  an  interchange  of  attrac- 
tion between  them  and  matter,  I  have  not  formed  a 
definite  opinion,  but  believing  those  agents  do  exist 


\ 


*' 


in  condensed  conditions,  and  that  the  organ  of  the 
brain  that  enables  us  to  distinguish  sound  has  con- 
densed in  it  agents  that  electrically  or  attractively 
enable  it  to  receive  and  note  sounds.  I  am  inclined 
to  believe  that  attraction  or  affinity  between  certain 
classes  of  agents  have  to  do  with  the  production, 
transmission  and  reception  of  sounds.  The  air  and 
other  matter  being  component  parts  of  those  agents 
that  play  a  part  in  the  production  of  sounds  are  so 
affected  by  the  interchange  of  those  agents  in  the 
production  of  sounds  that  sensible  vibrations  may 
occur  therein. 

ELECTRICITY. 

1  believe  that  the  agents  I  have   been   describmg 
and,  perhaps,  others,  when  they  exist  in  more  or  less 
condensed  conditions,  and  without  being  combined 
with  matter,  are  recognized  as  electricity.    I  believe 
that  the  manifestations  produced  by  electrical  action 
are  not  all  caused  by  one  agent  or  one  class  of  agents, 
but    are   due  to  changing  conditions   of  different 
classes  of  attractive  agents.     Current  electri  dty  and 
frictional    electricity   are,    I  believe,   produced  by 
different  classes  of  agents.     Current  electricity  ap- 
pears   to   be   susceptible   of    passing    through    the 
substance     of    conductors,    while    trictional     elec- 
tricity only  travels  on  the  surface  of  conductors  and 
only  becomes  component  parts  of  matter  by  being 
chemically  combined  with  same  in  processes  result- 
ing  in  the  formation  of  different  types  of  matter. 
When  not  combined  with  matter,  whether  dense  or 
tenuous,  it  has  an  attraction  or  affinity  for  various 


8 

types  ot  matter  and  it  also  has  an  attraction  for  cur- 
rent electricity.  1  believe  that  frictional  electricity 
exists  in  tenuous  conditions  as  component  parts  ot 
air  from  whence  it  is  principally  derived  either 
directly  or  indirectly. 

Current  electricity,  I  believe,  is  principally  derived 
by  its  being  liberated  when  chemical  action  trans- 
forms substances  wherein  it  existed  in  condensed 
conditions.  /  believe  that  attractive  or  electrical  agents 
have  an  affinity  or  attraction  for  various  types  of  mat- 
ter, which  may  be  partly  due  to  their  affinity  or  attrac- 
tion for  varies  types  of  matter  as  such,  but  is  likely 
in  greater  part  due  to  their  affinity  or  attraction  for 
other  attractive  or  electrical  agents  that  are  com- 
ponent parts  of  such  matter.  I  believe  that  the 
behavior  of  magnets  is  partly  due  to  a  condensation 
of  different  agents,  attractive  or  electrical,  in  the 
respective  ends  thereof,  and  partly  due  to  other 
agents  that  condense  on  the  surface  of  the  respective 
ends  of  them,  being  attracted  thereto  partly  by  affinity 
for  iron  and  partly  by  affinity  for  agents  condensed 
therein.  Electro-magnets  wherein  soft  iron  becomes 
by  electrical  action  as  hard  as  hardened  steel,  evinces 
that  there  is  an  addition  therein  of  condensing 
agents.  The  behavior  of  platinum  under  certain 
conditions  leads  me  to  believe  that  it  is  capable  of 
absorbing  attractive  or  electrical  agents. 

FRICTIONAL    ELECTRICITY, 

I  believe,  is  the  only  stype  of  electricity  that  pro- 
duces sparks.     Frictional  electricity  having  attrac- 


(' 


•j 


i 


9 

tion  for  current  electricity,  likewise  for  conductors 
thereof  m  long  galvanic  circuits,  sufficient  frictional 
electricity  condenses  on  the  wire  and  accompanies 
the  current  to  produce  sparks  when  the   circuit  is 
broken.     The  frictional  electricity  condensed  on  the 
wire  in  seeking  the  coming  galvanic  current  causes 
what    is  called   self-inductive   currents.       Induced 
currents  are  due  to  the  same  cause,  the  length  and 
small  size  of  the  wire  in  inductive  coils  admit  of  the 
wire  and  the  air  more  intimately  permeating  each 
other,   and    consequently   more   electricity    is  con- 
densed upon  the  wire.     Induced   electricity  readily 
giving  sparks  evince  its  being  of  the  frictional  type. 
I  believe  that  there  are  agents  that  play  a  part  in  the 
production  of  frictional  electricity  that  likewise  play 
a  part  in  the  production  of  sounds.     Galvanic   elec- 
tricity I  do  not  believe  plays  any  part  in  the  produc- 
tion of  sounds   but  by   attracting   to   and  carrying 
with  it  frictional  electricity.     It  serves  an  efficient 
purpose  in  transmitting  for  long  distances  without 
material  loss  that  frictional  electricity  that  does  play 
a  part  in  the  production  of  sounds. 

In  using  the  telephone,  I  believe  that  the  inspir- 
ations and  expirations  that  produces  articulate  speech 
causes  changing  conditions  in  electrical  agents  that 
are  stored  or  condensed  in  the  transmitter,  and  the 
conducting  wire  causes  similar  changing  conditions 
in  similar  condensed  electrical  agents  that  are  com- 
ponent parts  of  the  receiver,  and  the  nerve  of  the  ear 
acting  as  a  conducting  medium  causes  a  similar 
changing  condition  of  similar  agents  stored  in  the 
brain. 


8 

types  ot  matter  and  it  also  has  an  attraction  for  cur- 
rent electricity.  1  believe  that  frictional  electricity 
exists  in  tenuous  conditions  as  component  parts  of 
air  from  whence  it  is  principally  derived  either 
directly  or  indirectly. 

Current  electricity,  I  believe,  is  principally  derived 
by  its  being  liberated  when  chemical  action  trans- 
forms substances  wherein  it  existed  in  condensed 
conditions.  /  believe  that  attractive  or  electrical  di^^XiX.^ 
have  an  affinity  or  attraction  for  various  types  of  mat- 
ter, which  may  be  partly  due  to  their  affinity  or  attrac- 
tion for  varies  types  of  matter  as  such,  but  is  likely 
in  greater  part  due  to  their  affinity  or  attraction  for 
other  attractive  or  electrical  agents  that  are  com- 
ponent parts  of  such  matter.  I  believe  that  the 
behavior  of  magnets  is  partly  due  to  a  condensation 
of  different  agents,  attractive  or  electrical,  in  the 
respective  ends  thereof,  and  partly  due  to  other 
agents  that  condense  on  the  surface  of  the  respective 
ends  of  them,  being  attracted  thereto  partly  by  affinity 
for  iron  and  partly  by  affinity  for  agents  condensed 
therein.  Electro-magnets  wherein  soft  iron  becomes 
by  electrical  action  as  hard  as  hardened  steel,  evinces 
that  there  is  an  addition  therein  of  condensing 
agents.  The  behavior  of  platinum  under  certain 
conditions  leads  me  to  believe  that  it  is  capable  of 
absorbing  attractive  or  electrical  agents. 


FRICTIONAL    ELECTRICITY, 

I  believe,  is  the  only  stype  of  electricity  that  pro- 
duces sparks.     Frictional  electricity  having  attrac- 


ts 


tion  for  current  electricity,  likewise  for  conductors 
thereof  in  long  galvanic  circuits,  sufficient  frictional 
electricity  condenses  on  the  wire  and  accompanies 
the  current  to  produce  sparks  when  the  circuit  is 
broken.  The  frictional  electricity  condensed  on  the 
wire  in  seeking  the  coming  galvanic  current  causes 
what  is  called  self-inductive  currents.  Induced 
currents  are  due  to  the  same  cause,  the  length  and 
small  size  of  the  wire  in  inductive  coils  admit  of  the 
wire  and  the  air  more  intimately  permeating  each 
other,  and  consequently  more  electricity  is  con- 
densed upon  the  wire.  Induced  electricity  readily 
giving  sparks  evince  its  being  of  the  frictional  type. 
I  believe  that  there  are  agents  that  play  a  part  in  the 
production  of  frictional  electricity  that  likewise  play 
a  part  in  the  production  of  sounds.  Galvanic  elec- 
tricity I  do  not  believe  plays  any  part  in  the  produc- 
tion of  sounds  but  by  attracting  to  and  carrying 
with  it  frictional  electricity.  It  serves  an  efficient 
purpose  in  transmitting  for  long  distances  without 
material  loss  that  frictional  electricity  that  does  play 
a  part  in  the  production  of  sounds. 

In  using  the  telephone,  I  believe  that  the  inspir- 
ations and  expirations  that  produces  articulate  speech 
causes  changing  conditions  in  electrical  agents  that 
are  stored  or  condensed  in  the  transmitter,  and  the 
conducting  wire  causes  similar  changing  conditions 
in  similar  condensed  electrical  agents  that  are  com- 
ponent parts  of  the  receiver,  and  the  nerve  of  the  ear 
acting  as  a  conducting  medium  causes  a  similar 
changing  condition  of  similar  agents  stored  in  the 
brain. 


10 


When  water  is  decomposed  by  electricity,  a  mag- 
nifying glass  detects  no  agitation  or  transfer  of 
matter  between  the  poles  from  which  is  delivered 
the  separated  types  ot  matter  that  water  is  composed 
of.  This  leads  me  to  infer  that  it  may  be  true  that 
oxygen  gas  and  hydrogen  gas  represent  the  same 
type  of  matter  combined,  with  different  types  of 
attractive  or  electrical  agents.  When  I  consider 
the  varied  forms  and  appearances  of  substances, 
especially  in  organic  chemistry,  formed  from  a  few 
elementary  types  of  matter,  1  believe  that  there 
exists,  as  component  parts  of  those  substances,  agents 
that  like  the  scent  and  effluvia  that  eminate  from 
many  of  them  that  have  not  been  taken  in  account 
when  chemists  analize  them.  Scents  and  effluvia,  I 
believe,  are  considered  as  material  matter,  and  I  be- 
lieve that  material  matter  exists  as  component  parts 
thereof,  but  that  the  ability  to  detect  them  and  dis- 
tinguish between  them  is  due  to  attractive  or  elec- 
trical agents  that  are  component  parts  oi  them.  Air 
currents,  winds  and  tornadoes,  while  in  part  are  due 
to  differences  in  density  of  the  air,  I  believe  in  far 
greater  part  are  due  to  agents  that  have  been  by 
chemical  action  separated  from  agents  or  matter  for 
which  they  have  attraction  or  affinity,  and  in  seeking 
a  readjustment,  carrying  with  them  the  air  that  they 
have  become  component  parts  of.  The  energy  with 
which  the  air  moves  in  time  of  storms  and  tornadoes 
is  caused  by  the  intense  chemical  action  occurring 
at  the  time  the  transformation  of  matter  and  agents 
that  occur  during  storms  often  leave  electrical  agents 
uncombined  with  matter,  when  they  condense  and 


^1 


)     A 


seek   a    satisfactory   combination — when   doing  so 
they  are  recognized  as  lightning. 

CONSERVATION  OF  ENERGY. 

The  followmg  extracts  from  Fergusons  work  on 
electricity  page  82,  defines  the  law  of  the  conser- 
vation of  energy  as  taught  by  scients. 

"  The  law  of  the  Conservation  of  Energy  asserts 
that  the  quantity  of  energy  in  the  universe  is  a  con- 
stant quantity.  No  energy  can  be  created,  no  energy 
can  be  destroyed.  Energy  may  be  transformed 
from  one  form  to  another.  Water  or  any  raised 
mass  may  fall  and  so  lose  potential  energy ;  but  in 
falling  it  will  either  gain  kinetic  energy  or  do  work 
by  turning  a  wheel  or  in  some  other  way.  Gun- 
powder may  explode  and  so  lose  its  potential  energy ; 
but  the  bullet  it  has  propelled  and  the  gun  which 
has  recoiled  have  kinetic  energy.  Some  of  the 
energy  of  the  powder  has  changed  into  energy  of 
sound,  and  some  into  energy  of  heat  and  light.  But 
il  the  energy  of  the  bullet,  and  the  gun,  the  energy 
of  the  sound,  the  heat,  and  the  light  be  all  measured, 
it  will  be  found  that  their  sum  will  equal  the  origi- 
nal energy  of  the  powder.  In  other  words,  to  do 
work  of  any  kind,  energy  must  be  transformed  form 
one  form  into  another  ;  and  if  any  energy  is  seen  to 
come  into  existence  at  one  place,  that  must  be  due 
to  an  equivalent  amount  of  energy  having  dis- 
appeared in  another.  No  energy  can  disappear  in 
one  form  without  appearing  in  some  other.  Hence 
wherever  we  see  energy  of  one  form  produced,  we 


should  always   be  able  to  hnd  that  it  is  due  to  the 
transformation  ofenergy  of  some  other  form." 

1  do  not  believe  in  the  theory  that  energy  never 
disappears  under  one  form,  without  its  equivalent 
appearing  under  some  other  form.     I  believe  that 
stored  energy   is  an  unsatisfied  condition  of  agents 
and  matter  wherein  certain  agents  and  matter  remain 
in  their  present  condition,  until  predisposing  causes 
aid  them  in  readjusting  themselves.  Their  attractive 
affinity  is  such  that  in  readjusting  themselves  they 
may  be  made  to  perform  work,  or  may  be  made  to 
so  act  upon  other  agents  and  matter  that  the  sec- 
ondary action  may  be  made  to  perform  work.    Such 
secondary  action  may  be  called  transformed  energy. 
The  energy  observed  in  the  animal  system  may  be 
said  to  be  transformed  from  the  vegetable  kingdom. 
The  energy  exhibited  in  the  steam  engine  may  be 
said  to  be  transformed  from  the  fuel  burned.     The 
action  ol  the  sun  is  the  principal  cause  of  stored 
energy  on  the  surface  of  the  earth.     The  suns  action 
was  as  effective  four  hundred  years  ago  in  storing 
energy  on  this  continent  as  it  is  at  the  present  time. 
The  stored  energy   at  that  time,  that  was  not  dis- 
troyed  by  prairie  fires  was  transformed  into   wild 
animals  thence  into  wild  men,  that  cared  little  for 
work  and  who  possessed  but  little  means  to  accom- 
plish work,  so   but  little  work  was  done.     Then  it 
required   a  good    deal  of  energy  in  rubbing  sticks 
together  to  kindle  a  fire,  and  now  but  little  energy 
is  required  for  that  purpose.     The  amount  of  work 
that  a  given  amount  of  stored  energy  may  be  made 
to  produce  will  depend  upon  the  adaptability  of  the 


.1 


13 

means  used  to  attain  the  end  sought.  The  striking 
of  a  cold  bullet  placed  on  a  cold  anvil  with  a  cold 
sledge  hammer  is  not  in  my  opinion  a  judicious 
manner  to  develop  heat  to  be  converted  into 
mechanical  energy  for  the  purpose  of  raising  sledge 
hammers,  believing  as  I  do  that  the  heat  generate 
under  any  circumstances  would  serve  but  little 
purpose,  in  raising  the  hammer  back  to  the  height 
from  whence  it  decended,  notwithstanding  Prof, 
Tyndall's  belief  to  the  contrary  as  the  following 
extract  from  a  work  of  his  indicates. 

'*  And  now  for  the  effect  of  percussion.  I  have  here 
a  cold  lead  bullet,  which  I  place  upon  this  cold 
anvil,  and  strike  it  with  a  cold  sledge  hammer.  The 
sledge  decends  with  a  certain  mechanical  force,  and 
its  motion  is  suddenly  destroyed  by  the  bullet  and 
anvil;  apparently  the  force  of  the  sledge  is  lost. 
But  let  us  examine  the  lead  ;  you  see  it  is  heated, 
and  could  we  gather  up  all  the  heat  generated  by 
the  shock  of  the  sledge,  and  apply  it  without  loss 
mechanically,  we  should  be  able,  by  means  of  it,  to 
lift  this  hammer  to  the  height  from  which  it  fell." 

THE  HEAT  DEVELOPED  BY  CONCUSSION. 

I  quote  the  following  extract  from  Prof.  Tyndall's 
work  on  heat  as  a  mode  of  motion. 

"  Let  us,  then,  fix  our  attention  upon  the  wonderful 
substance,  water,  and  trace  it  through  the  various 
stages  of  its  existence.  First  we  have  its  constituents 
as  free  atoms,  which  attract  each  other,  fall,  and 
clash  together.  The  mechanical  value  of  this  atomic 
act  is  easily  determined  ;  knowing  the  number  of 


i!-.'!ses<iri-..f  ai«TfSj|ii;mi*iiif  I 


14 

foot-pounds  corresponding  to  the  heating  of  i  lb.  of 
water  i°  C,  we  can  readily  calculate  the  number  of 
foot-pounds  equivalent  to  the  heating  of  34,000  lbs. 
of  water  i**  C.  Multiplying  the  latter  number  by 
1*309,  we  find  that  the  concussion  of  our  i  lb.  of 
hydrogen  with  8  lbs.  of  oxygen  is  equal,  in  mechani- 
cal value,  to  the  raising  of  forty-seven  million  pounds 
one  foot  high!  I  think  I  did  not  overrate  matters 
when  I  said  that  the  force  of  gravity,  as  exerted 
near  the  earth,  was  almost  a  vanishing  quantity,  in 
comparison  with  these  molecular  forces;  and  bear  in 
mind  the  distances  which  separate  the  atoms  before 
combination — distances  so  small  as  to  be  utterly 
immeasurable ;  still  it  is  in  passing  over  these  dis- 
tances that  the  atoms  acquire  a  velocity  sufficient  to 
cause  them  to  clash  with  the  tremendous  energy 
indicated  by  the  above  numbers. 

After  combination  the  substance  is  in  a  state  of 
vapor,  which  sinks  to  212*^,  and  afterwards  con- 
denses to  water.  In  the  first  instance  the  atoms  fell 
together  to  form  the  compound :  in  the  next  instance 
the  molecules  of  the  compound  fall  together  to  form 
a  liquid.  The  mechanical  value  of  this  act  is  also 
easily  calculated  :  9  lbs.  of  steam  in  falling  to  water, 
generate  an  amount  of  heat  sufficient  to  raise  967x9 
=8,703  lbs.  of  water  i*'  F.  Multiplying  this  number 
by  772,  we  have  a  product  of  6,718,716  foot-pounds 
as  the  mechanical  value  of  the  mere  act  of  conden- 
sation. The  next  great  fall  of  our  9  lbs.  of  water  is 
from  the  state  of  liquid  to  that  of  ice,  and  the 
mechanical  value  of  this  act  is  equal  to  993,564  foot- 
pounds.    Thus  our  9  lbs.  of  water,  in  its  origin  and 


i     I   I 


I 


i 


16 

progress,  falls  down  three  great  precipices :  the  first 
fall  is  equivalent  to  the  descent  of  a  ton  weight  urged 
by  gravity  down  a  precipice  22,320  feet  high  ;  the 
second  fall  is  equal  to  that  of  a  ton  down  a  precipice 
2,900  feet  high  :  and  the  third  is  equal  to  the  descent 
of  a  ton  down  a  precipice  433  feet  high.  I  have  seen 
the  wild  stone-avalanches  of  the  Alps,  which  smoke 
and  thunder  down  the  declivities  with  a  vehemence 
almost  sufficient  to  stun  the  observer.  I  have  also 
seen  snow-flakes  descending  so  softly  as  not  to  hurt 
the  fragile  spangles  of  which  they  were  composed ; 
yet  to  produce,  from  aqueous  vapor,  a  quantity  of 
that  tender  material  which  a  child  could  carry,  de- 
mands an  exertion  of  energy  competent  to  gather 
up  the  shattered  blocks  of  the  largest  stone-avalanche 
I  have  ever  seen,  and  pitch  them  to  twice  the  height 
from  which  they  fell." 

The  information  the  foregoing  reveals  regarding 
the  wonderful  energy  required  to  form  a  little  ice 
causes  me  to  wonder  how  ice  can  be  manufactured 
so  cheaply.  The  foregoing  computations  are  based 
on  the  claim  that  a  weight  falling  from  a  height  the 
concussion  would  generate  heat  enough,  were  it  all 
transformed  into  mechanical  energy  to  force  it  back 
to  the  position  from  which  it  fell,  but  substances 
would  have  to  possess  more  of  the  properties  of 
dynamite  than  they  commonly  do  before  I  would  be 
an  advocate  of  such  a  claim.  Those  computations 
are  based  also  on  the  claim  that  heat  appears  as 
energy  when  vapor  condenses  into  water,  and  that 
heat  likewise  appears  as  energy  when  water  is  frozen 
into  ice  ;  but,  in  ray  opinion,   the   possible  energy 


T     A 


16 

resulting  from  the  heat  appearing,  given  out  as  fur- 
nished when  nine  pounds  of  vapor  is  condensed  to 
ice,  could  not  be  transformed  into  mechanical  energy 
that  would  pitch  a  stone  avalanche  very  high. 

THE  EXPANSION  OF  GASES  BY  HEAT. 

1  quote  the  following  extract  from  Tyndall's  work 
on  heat. 

''  Suppose  I  have  a  quantity  of  air  contained  in  a 
very  tall  cylinder,  a  b  (fig.  21),  the  transverse  section 
of  which  is  one  square  inch  in  area.   Let  the  top  A  of 
the  cylinder  be  open  to  the  air,  and  let  P  be  a  piston, 
which,  for  reasons  to   be  explained  immediately,  1 
will  suppose  to  weigh   two   pounds  one  ounce,  and 
which  moves  air-tight   and   without   friction,  up   or 
down  in  the  cylinder.     At  the  commencement  of  the 
experiment,  let  the  piston   be  at  the  point  P  of  the 
cylinder,  and  let  the  height  of  the  cylinder  from  its 
bottom  B  to  the  point  P  be  273  inches,  the  air  under- 
neath   the   piston    being   at  a  temperature   of  o^  C. 
Then,  on  heating  the  air  from  o^  to  i^  C.  the  piston 
will  rise  one  inch ;  it  will  now  stand  at  274  inches 
above  the  bottom.     If  the   temperature   be   raised 
two  degrees,  the  piston  will  stand   at  275,  if  raised 
three  aegrees  it  will   stand  at  276,  if  raised   ten  de- 
gress it  will  stand  at  283,  if  100  degrees  it  will  stand 
at  373  inches  above  the  bottom  ;  finally,  if  the   tem- 
perature were  raised  to  273''  C,  it  is  quite   manifest 
273  inches  would  be  added  to  the  height  of  the   col- 
umn, or,  in  other  words,  by  heating  the  air  to  273^ 
C,  Its  volume  would  be  doubled. 


I 


\ 


17 

"  It  is  evident  that  the  gas,  m  this  experiment,  exe- 
cutes work.  In  expanding  from  P  upwards,  it  has  to 
overcome  the  downward  pressure  of  the  atmosphere, 
which  amounts  to  15  lbs.  on  every  square  inch,  and 
also  the  weight  of  the  piston  itself,  which  is  2  lbs.  i 
oz.  Hence,  the  section  of  the  cylinder  being  one 
square  inch  in  area,  in  expanding  from  p  to  P'  the 
work  done  by  the  gas  is  equivalent  to  the  raising  a 
weight  of  17  lbs.  i  oz.,  or  273  ounces,  to  a  height  of 
273  inches.** 

In  the  foregoing  experiment  when  the  piston 
stands  at  p  in  place  of  applying  heat,  let  lifting  scales 
be  attached  to  the  upper  surface  of  the  piston  by 
which  means  raise  the  piston  to  P';  the  weight  that 
the  scales  will  be  lifting  will  represent  the  work  that 
heat  will  accomplish  in  raising  the  piston  to  the  same 
height.  It  is  evident  to  my  mind  that  the  space  in 
the  cylinder  under  the  piston  would  have  to  be  vac- 
uous before  the  scales  would  be  lifting  17  lbs.  i  oz. 
with  the  air  in  the  cylinder  having  half  of  the  density 
of  the  air  above  it,  I  infer  that  the  scales  would  only 
be  lifting  153  ounces. 

The  following  extract  I  quote  from  Stoer  and 
Eliot  on  in  organic  chemistry  : 

"If  sulphuric  acid  be  mixed  with  ice  or  snow,  the 
latter  will  be  immediately  liquefied.  If  the  propor- 
tion of  ice  in  the  mixture  be  small,  as  compared  with 
that  of  sulphuric  acid,  heat  will  be  evolved  much  as 
is  the  case  with  liquid  water,  though  to  a  less  extent. 
But  when  a  large  proportion  of  ice  is  mixed  with  a 
comparatively  small  quantity  of  the  acid,  no  heat 
will  be  perceived,  but,  on  the  contrary,  intense 
cold."  ^ 


18 

My  explanation  is  that  ice  contains  in  condensed 
forms  agents  that  produce  cold,  while  sulphuric  acid 
contains  in  condensed  forms  agents  that  produce 
heat;  and  when  the  ice  is  liquefied  in  sufficient 
quantities  the  condensed  cold  is  freed,  and  appears 
as  sensible  cold  in  excess  of  what  neutralizes  the 
heat  liberated  from  the  sulphuric  acid.  When  the 
sulphuric  acid  is  in  excess,  the  heat  given  out  more 
than  neutralizes  the  cold  and  heat  is  produced. 

TIDES  AND  THE  CAUSES  THAT  PRO- 
DUCE THEM. 

I  have  not  given  the  question  of  ocean  tides  much 
consideration,  but  the  little  I  know  in  regard  to 
them  leads  me  to  believe  that  the  accepted  theory  in 
regard  to  them,  unaided  by  observation,  would  be 
a  miserable  failure  as  an  aid  in  predicting  the  time 
that  high  water  would  occur  or  the  height  to  which 
it  would  rise  at  different  places. 

As  I  believe  that  the  sun  and  the  moon  has  a  varied 
attraction  for  the  varied  substances  composing  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  I  believe  that  the  sum  of  the 
attractions  of  the  sun  and  moon  respectively  for 
large  bodies  of  land  as  compared  to  the  sum  of  their 
attractions  for  large  bodies  of  water  is  the  chief 
factor  in  raising  tides. 


i 


f 


19 


VIEWS     REGARDING     THE     PART     THAT 

ELECTRICAL     AGENTS     SERVE     IN 

THE    ANIMAL    SYSTEM. 

I  believe  that  the  nervous  system  is  an  electrical 
system.  I  believe  that  a  type  of  electricity  separ- 
ated from  agents  for  which  it  has  attraction  or  affin- 
ity exists  in  condensed  forms  in  the  food  that  is  taken 
into  the  system.  In  the  passage  of  the  food  through 
the  system  those  electrical  agents  are  absorbed  and 
conveyed  by  nerves  in  most  part  to  the  brain,  per- 
haps in  minor  part  to  other  receptacles,  where  it 
exists  in  condensed  or  storage  condition,  to  be  used 
as  the  system  requires.  The  agents  that  these  agents 
seek  to  unite  with  is  a  component  part  of  oxygen, 
which  is  received  in  the  system  through  the  lungs,' 
and  the  two  classes  of  agents  become  united  in  the 
system,  and  are  expelled  from  the  system  as  carbonic 
acid.  The  agents  that  are  components  of  oxygen  not 
existing  in  stored  conditions  in  the  system,  must  be 
constantly  received  therein.  There  takes  place  in 
the  system  no  action,  either  voluntary  or  involuntary, 
muscular  or  otherwise,  that  is  not  effected  by  agents 
that  come  into  the  system  in  an  unsatisfied  condition 
while  seeking  a  readjustment. 

LIGHT  AND    HEAT    FROM    DIFFERENT 

CAUSES. 

I  believe  that  light  and  heat  produced  by  chemical 
action  and  light  and  heat  produced  by  electrical 
action  is  due  to  disturbed  and  unsatisfied  conditions 


i^ajtstaadi^a^ustili^^ 


MtmAmiii r  niiiiiriiiiiii T  nm  i i  ir 


20 

of  similar  classes  of  agents.  In  the  former  case 
those  agents  exists  in  unsatisfied  conditions  in  more 
or  less  condensed  forms  as  component  parts  of  ma- 
terial  substances  in  the  transformation  effected  by 
chemical  action  they  are  set  free,  and  in  seeking  a 
satisfied  condition  light  and  heat  results.  In  the 
latter  case  those  agents  are  condensed  in  and  on 
material  substances,  but  not  in  such  conditions  that 
transformation  of  those  substances  is  necessary  to 
hberate  them.  When  in  such  conditions  they,  in 
electrical  action,  seek  a  satisfied  condition,  light  and 
heat  may  be  made  to  result. 

THE    WAVE    THEORY. 

We  are  taught  that  there  is  a  tenuous  condition  of 
matter  filling  all  space,  known  by  the  name  of  ether 
We  are  taught  that  this  ether  is  so  tenuous  that  its 
waves  pass  through  the  densest  materials.     We  are 
taught  that  light  and  radiant  heat  is   produced    by 
waves  or  vibrations  of  this  ether-those   waves  for 
to  produce  light,  recurring  at  the  rate  of  from  four 
hundred  and  seventy-four  millions  of  millions  to  six 
hundred    and   ninety-nine   million    of  millions  per 
second.     While   many  of  the  waves  that  produce 
heat  recur  less  frequently,  and  many  of  the   waves 
that  produce  chemical  action  recur  more  frequently 
there  being  a  great  difference  in  the  quality  of  work 
produced  by  those  waves,  and  the  variations  in  the 
quality  of  work  produced   being  due  to  the  recur- 
ring  period  of  the  wave  that  produced  it ;  so  there  is 
not  only  so  many  million  of  millions  of  waves  of  one 
length,  but  so  many  million  of  million  of  waves  of 


#    If 


21 

every  other  different  length,  all  belting  away  during 
every  second  of  time  without  getting  in  the  way  of 
each  others  licks. 

I  believe  it  is  as  reasonable  to  believe  that  there 
exists  on  the  surface  of  the  earth  a  dozen  of  ethers 
as  to  believe  that  there  exists  one  ether,  and  I  be- 
lieve that  it  is  as  reasonable  to  believe  that  those  are 
as  susceptable  of  existing  in  condensed  conditions  as 
to   believe  them   to   be  susceptable  of  existing  in 
tenuous  conditions.     I  believe  that  it  is   reasonable 
to   believe  that  the  attraction  existing  between  the 
earth  and  the  sun  is  the  sum  of  the  aggregation  of 
attractions  existing  between  the  component  parts  of 
their   respective  formations,  chemisty  teaches  that 
there  is  a  great  variety  of  attractions  or  affinities  ex- 
isting  between  the  various  substances  or  composi- 
tions existing  on    the    earths    surface,    spectium 
analysis  by  the  aid  of  a  more  delicate  attractive  test, 
as  I  believe  light  to  be,  teaches  the  same  thing  and 
goes  further   in  teaching,  that  there  is  a  variety  of 
substances  on  the    suns   surface    that    exercises    a 
varied  attraction,  vegetation  I  believe  is  formed  by 
the  action  of  the  sun  in  attracting  certain  agents 
and  types  of  matter  from  the  forming  vegetation  and 
leaving  others  to  condense  in  the  form  of  vegetation. 
Vegetation  is  always  cold  and  moist  even  when  the 
sun  is  shining  on  it  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  this  is  I 
believe  due  to  its  structure  being  channels  through 
which   the  sun    attracts  cold  and  moisture  or  the 
agents  that  produce  cold   and  moisture  from   the 
earth  when  vegetation  is  severed  from  its  connection 
with  the  earth  it  soon  looses  its  moist  and  cooling 


il  r  lafl"  iMihiiiriiifiTinmhiiiiiiriniii  r'l 


'f  !r:' 


22 

properties,  for  the  reason  that  the  cold  and  moisture 
which  the  sun  is  drawing  from  it  is  not  replaced  as 
before  the  foregoing  are  some  of  the  conclusions 
drawn  by  me,  not  from  any  one  particular  source, 
but  from  all  the  sources  to  me  available. 


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